Dumbo 2 An Ugly Duckling Story
by DarkTeddiursa
Summary: Feeling unwanted by his family, a young duckling named Hamish sets off into the world to meet the legendary Dumbo, hoping to find some sort of acceptance. Along the way, he meets many creatures, including five familiar crows who take him under their wing.
1. Chapter 1: An Obvious Mistake

**Author's Note: Okay, I know I keep putting up stories and then taking them down after the first chapter, but can you blame me? I have a short attention span. Hopefully, I'm planning to stick with this one. So anyway, what is this story? Well, I rewatched Dumbo the other day, and decided to check out if the movie had any fanfiction. And it does, just not a lot. Someone actually started writing a sequel for it but never finished, so I've decided to do a... well, more of a spin-off than a sequel. I came up with the idea of Dumbo meeting the ugly duckling, which is what this story is about. I also did some research and found out that Disney did actually do a short based on the ugly duckling (actually, they did two, but I used the later one for this story) I watched it and it's really cute ^^ So I decided to use the beginning of that for the story (of course I changed it a bit to fit in with the Dumbo universe) I hope you enjoy this. Please tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Dumbo belongs to Disney, and Ugly Duckling belongs to Hans Christian Andersen. I am gaining nothing from this story, other than my own amusement.  
**

**Chapter 1: An Obvious Mistake**

"Dear, please do stop pacing," Mrs Duck told her husband.

"I can't help it, Matilda," Mr Duck replied, concern obvious in his voice. "He should have been here by now!"

Mrs Duck shook her head. Her husband had never been the patient type. She glanced up at the sky and her eyes immediately brightened as she saw what they had been waiting for. "Henry!" she called. Her husband looked round and then followed her gaze. A huge smile formed on his beak.

Mr Stork came down from the sky with five bundles of cloth in his large beak. As he landed on the ground, he stopped to catch his breath, brushing sweat from his forehead. He then looked up and smile. "Mrs Duck, I presume?" he addressed the expecting mother.

Mrs Duck nodded her head. Mr Stork approached her, placing the bundles in front of her. Mr Duck came over to inspect them.

Mr Stork took of his hat and gave a little bow to Mrs Duck before taking a small book out of his hat. He opened the book and cleared his throat. "Straight from heaven up above, here are many sons for you to love," he exclaimed.

Mrs Duck smile and lowered her head to open the bundles but was stopped as the stork waved a notebook in front of her.

"Sign here, please," he said, holding up a pencil.

Mr Duck made an impatient noise but his wife ignored him and took the pencil graciously with her wing. She drew a cross over the dotted line before returning the pencil to the stork. She then began to tug at one of the bundles before the stork once again stopped her.

"One moment please," Mr Stork said gently. "This still part of the service." He took out a harmonica and blew into it before beginning to singing. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear..." he paused. "Dear..." He frowned and looked at Mrs Duck. "Dear me, what are their names?"

Mrs Duck smile. "Bertie, Bill, Henry Jr. and Colin."

Mr Stork frowned. "What about the fifth one?"

Mrs Duck blinked and then her eyes came to the fifth bundle. "Fifth?"

Mr Duck, sensing trouble, interjected. "We were only expecting four," he told the stork, a slight edge in his voice. "It's obvious there has been some mistake."

Mr Stork looked nervous. "No, sir, I assure you. I mean, I can ask my superiors but I'm pretty certain that this is your child."

Mrs Duck looked at the bundle again. Before she had simply thought it was a baby the stork was delivering to someone else. Was it really hers?

"Are you trying to pull the wool over our eyes!" Mr Duck shouted.

"Sir, p-p-please, calm down," Mr Stork stuttered.

"Henry," Mrs Duck spoke up. "Please."

"But Matilda-"

"Whether we were expecting it or not," Mrs Duck continued. "We have five sons. Let's take in the child. What's the worst that could happen?"

Mr Duck thought about this. He reluctantly gave a grumble of agreement.

Mrs Duck looked at the stork. "We shall name him Hamish."

Mr Stork gave a sigh of relief and continued his song. "Happy birthday Bertie, Bill, Henry Jr., Colin and Hamish~" he sang struggling to fit all the names in. "Happy birthday tooooo~" He gave a deep breath before saying the last word. "YOU~!" He then shot up into the sky, tilting his hat to the couple.

Mr Duck turned to his wife excitedly. "Hurry up, my dear," he urged her.

Mrs Duck opened the first bundle to reveal a beautiful and fluffy golden chick. "Welcome to the family Bertie," she said to her child as he greeted her with a little 'quack'. She then turned to the next three bundles. One by one she opened them and greeted each of her new sons, Bill, Henry Jr. and Colin, who all quacked at their mother. Each duckling was small and bright yellow in colour. Mr Duck's heart swelled with pride and nuzzled each of his sons. Mrs Duck then turned to the fifth bundle and slowly untied it. She looked down at her fifth son... and gave a gasp of shock.

Mr Duck turned. "Matilda, what is wrong?"

"Henry," Mr Duck pointed. "Look."

Mr Duck looked at the fifth duckling and his beak dropped. He glanced at his other sons, then back.

The young duckling in front of them was a bit bigger than his siblings, and his colouring was rather different. Instead of golden feathers, he was pale grey in colour with a black beak and feet. His beak was different shape and his neck seemed somewhat longer than that of his brothers.

Mr Duck walked over to inspect his unusual son. As he saw his father for the first time, young Hamish, as they called him, gave a little smile, his eyes brightening. He then opened his beak like his brothers had when they had quacked. However, the sound that came out of his beak was not a small quack but a loud and almost unearthly 'honk'.

Mr Duck's eyes widened. He then turned his head to his wife. "What... what... is it?"

Mrs Duck waddled over next to her husband. "I have no idea, darling."

Mr Duck huffed. "Then get rid of it, woman," he said to her.

Mrs Duck stared. "Henry!" she gasped. "You can't-"

"I don't care what the stork said," Mr Duck cried out with rage. "THAT is not our son. I don't even think that thing is a duck at all!"

"But you told me that you would let us keep him!" Mrs Duck felt tears forming in her eyes.

"That is before I knew how... _ugly_... he was," Mr Duck shuddered.

"HENRY!" Mrs Duck cried.

"Matilda," Mr Duck ignored her. "I'm telling you get rid of it."

"No!" Mrs Duck shook her head. "I refuse to do such a thing to my own son."

Mr Duck straightened himself up and looked his wife right in the eye. "Matilda, you either get rid of that thing... or I'm leaving!"

Mrs Duck's eyes widened. "Henry, you don't expect me to able to choose." Her eyes watered.

Mr Duck's rage worsened. "Fine!" he shouted. "Keep your pile of filth, just don't come crying to me when it all goes wrong!" He then stormed off.

Mrs Duck cried after him. "Henry!" she called. Mr Duck didn't look round. "Henry!... HENRY!"

Mr Duck never came back. He left his wife alone to care for their five chicks. Mrs Duck tried her hardest to be a good mother to her sons, but her heart never healed after the incident. What she was ashamed for the most, however, was that after the arguement, she found herself blaming Hamish for her husband's abandoment. She hated herself for thinking such a thing, but couldn't help it.

This is where out story begins.


	2. Chapter 2: It's All Instinct

**Chapter 2: It's All Instinct**

Slightly more than a week had passed since the arrival of Mrs Duck's children, and the ducklings had already began to speak, for when you are a duck, time passes quickly so you must learn quickly in order to keep up. Mrs Duck had spent the first three days yearning for her husband's return. However, since a duck ages quite quickly, three days are equal to a few months. Mrs Duck gave up on her husband on ever returning and devoted herself to her children.

Her sons had started to change already. The eldest, Bertie, was the second biggest of the siblings, and had grown to be quite strong and determined. He was still a young child, but Mrs Duck could already see the man he would be later on. Bill was also becoming a strong duck and had already taken to rivalling his brother Bertie in small pecking fights. Mrs Duck could sense Bill had an aggressive nature. She wondered if it had anything to do with his father's absense in his life. She didn't even know if her sons knew what a 'father' was. He had left only seconds after they had arrived. However, instinct knows many things.

Henry Jr. was already the cutest of his brothers. He didn't just share his father's name, but she could tell his looks had passed on as well. Mrs Duck didn't want to pick favourites out of her children... but if she could, Henry would be her favourite.

Colin was the smallest of the siblings, despite being only the second youngest. He was physically weaker than his brothers, and seemed to jump even at his own shadow. At first, Mrs Duck feared Colin would not live long, but her son had prevailed. She was careful to keep a close eye on him.

Then there was Hamish. Hamish, the misfit, the odd ball, the cause of all her troubles. _No, _Mrs Duck thought everytime she felt a pang of anger. _I can't think that about my own son. It's not his fault. _No matter how many times she thought it, though, she could never erase the feelings she felt. Hamish, like his brothers, was growing and was the biggest of the ducklings. However, he did not challenge his brothers. He tended to waddle off by himself, often meaning Mrs Duck had to go and find him. She remembered those first three days when she had been brooding over her husband, hoping desperately he would return. That's when she had first noticed Hamish was missing and had gone to find him. Luckily, he was but a couple of days old and hadn't wandered too far. She had scolded him though, maybe more harshly than she would have to any other of her sons. Mrs Duck would admit, though, if hadn't been for Hamish wandering off like that, it would have taken longer for her to resume her responsibility as a mother. Her sons needed her, and maybe she needed them even more right now.

Anyhow, as the week came to an end, Mrs Duck decided it was time to take her sons to the pond. Usually, ducklings are taken to the pond fairly early, but she had been so depressed that she had forgotten. No more, though. Her little boys were going to swim for the first time.

As she lead them out, Henry was the first to ask. "Ma, where are we going?"

Mrs Duck smile at her son. "The pond," she said. "It is time you little ones started to swim."

"We're going to swim?" Bertie exclaimed. "Woohoo!"

"I bet I can swim better than you Bertie!" Bill piped up.

Bertie glared at his little brother. "Nuh-uh! I'm the oldest!"

"Well, I'm the strongest!" Bill proclaimed.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"You're not!"

"I am so!"

"Not!"

"Am!"

"Not!"

"I am!"

"Boys, please," Mrs Duck said wearily. "Don't fight."

"He started it!" Bertie pointed at Bill.

"I don't care who started it," Mrs Duck said. "I just want it to end."

The boys fell silent. However, when Bertie glanced at his brother, he could see that Bill was sticking his tongue out at him and returned the gesture.

"Erm, m-ma," Colin stuttered. "W-w-we don't know h-h-how to swim."

"Of course you know how to swim, Colin," Mrs Duck smiled at him, but her voice sounded exasperated. "Swimming is second nature to us. Any duck can do it."

"Except Hamish, of course," Bill piped up.

"'Course, he's not a duck at all," Bertie added. The two ducklings then burst into laughter. Even Henry cracked a little smile.

Hamish himself wasn't really listening to his brothers. His eyes were fixed on a small fly whizzing over his head. He stared at it as it spiral and flipped about the place, narrowly missing the top of his head. He was always doing that, watching something or daydreaming. He lived in his own little world. His brothers often joked he wasn't quite right in the head.

"Of course your brother is a duck!" Mrs Duck turned on her sons, her tone stern and cold. "You say anything to contrary and I will send you back to the nest!"

Bertie and Bill became silent and continued to follow their mother.

Mrs Duck didn't look at any of her sons as they walked to the pond but couldn't help thinking about what Bertie had said. Even after what she had told them, she had doubts Hamish was the same species as his brothers. He looked different. She was worried that he might not be able to swim. Hell, even if he was a duck, his unusual body shape might hinder him from swimming. She started to worry as they made their way to the pond.

The water glistened in the sunlight, shimmering and inviting. Mrs Duck waded in and, one-by-one, her ducklings followed her. She watched as, after their brothers had gotten in, Colin and Hamish slid into the water, Colin nervous and Hamish excited. Both of them swept gracefully over the water's surface. Mrs Duck breathed a sigh of relief: Hamish could swim, and ducks were the only birds who could swim at such a young age... that and geese, and her son was DEFINATELY not a goose.

"Come along," Mrs Duck called to her sons, going to the far side of water where the trees began to disappear and reveal the nearby park. This is where she would teach her sons the easy way to get food.

Behind her, Hamish could barely contain himself. He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time. He was swimming! He felt a strange, warm feeling deep down in his chest. He was swimming and he had barely had to think about it! He felt like he could do anything!

_I'm swimming! I'm swimming! _the thought ran through his head over and over.

Hamish turned his head to see one of his brothers, Colin, fairing a little worse. Unlike his brothers who had slipped into the water without a thought, Colin was trying a little too hard to keep his balance, which was ironically causing him to be off-balance. He struggled a little across the surface.

"Come on, Colin," Henry called to his brother, swimming to his side. "Relax."

"Erm, o-o-okay," Colin muttered, trying to ease up a little.

"Don't try to think too much about it," Henry continued. "Remember what Mom said: it's all instinct."

Hamish watched his two brothers, keeping a distance behind them. Neither of them really noticed him. That didn't surprise him much. His brothers kept their distance from him, though he couldn't understand why. He tried not to think about, because thinking about it made him feel kind of lonely. He sensed that his brothers didn't like him, and that his mother wasn't quite right around him. He pretended to act like he didn't notice, like he didn't care, but now, watching them mess around, he felt a tiny twinge of sadness where he had felt joy only moments before.

Eventually, the group came out over the park. They immediately greeted with a chorus of shouting and looked up to see these strange giants stomping about on the grass.

Colin froze in panic. "M-m-ma!" he called.

Mrs Duck turned to her sons, each of them frightened and in awe. "It's alright, my dears. Just follow me," she assured them, continuing on her way. One by one, the ducklings followed.

Hamish looked at the giants who had all turned to point at them. They were shouting to bigger giants, possibly their parents.

"Mommy, look!" one of them shouted.

"Duck!" another laughed.

Hamish felt a strange feeling of self-consciousness. He could feel their eye upon them.

One of the giants took out a strange brown object and began tearing out lumps and throwing them into the water. One of them narrowly missed Colin. The ducklings swam about in confusion.

"It's attack!" shouted Bertie.

"Ah!" exclaimed Bill.

Henry was the calmest of his brothers and quickly made his way to his mother, following her for safety.

Colin's panic rose and he began to splash violently in the water. He looked around but his mom and brothers were far from him. Hamish, spotting his brother's fear, came to his side. Colin turned his head to Hamish and splashed over to him, grateful for the support. Both ducklings then turned to face the giants, inspecting them warily. Hamish began to lead his brother away from the shore and towards their mom.

Mrs Duck, noticing her sons' panic, turned to them. She gave a little smile before suddenly ducking her head down into the water. Bertie and Bill, now a little calmer, came over. All the ducklings watcher their mother curiously. When she rose her head above the water at last, she was grasping a chunk of the brown stuff. She then tipped her head back and ate it. She then turned her head to her sons, an expectant look on her face. At that point, realisation dawned on all of the chicks.

_I get it. It's food! _Hamish thought. _The giants are giving us food._

As the giants threw more food into the pool, the ducklings scattered and began to grab for the chunks. Almost immediately, Bill and Bertie had made it a contest between the two of them and were dancing over the water, trying to get more food. Henry veared closer to the shore to get more attention, peering at the giants with big eyes.

Hamish himself made his way to the chunks he could see, managing to grab one or two of them. A lot of the time, though, Bill or Bertie would skid by and snatch one away before he had a chance. They would then laugh at him as he came back to the surface with a beak full of water. He would then spit it out and try again.

At one point, after successfully grabbing his fourth bit of food, Hamish turned to see little Colin frantically trying to get the brown chunks, but always being unsuccessful as either Bertie or Bill would grab one up before him. Feeling sorry for his brother, Hamish swam over to Colin, and, without a word, passed his brother the chunk. Surprised, Colin blinked at his brother before gratefully taking the chunk and swallowing it. After eating, Colin went to thank his brother, only to see Hamish swimming off to the edge of the pond.

It was then Colin guiltily realised that he had actually never spoken directly to Hamish during their short time on Earth.

**Author's Note: Well, that's the second chapter. Tell me what you think about these characters. Next chapter we'll be taking a break of Hamish and meeting up with another character. I'm not going to give too much away but... her name is Captain and she's a crow ;) We'll also be meeting up with Jim Crow and his gang soon as well but it will be a while before they meet Hamish so I decided that they should have their own little subplot until they meet up... just so this whole thing still counts as a Disney fanfic.  
**


	3. Chapter 3: I Dare You

**Chapter 3: I Dare You**

Meanwhile, in a forest far from where Mrs Duck and her sons were, a very unusual argument was taking place.

"I don't believe you."

"It's true! I swear!"

The argument itself wasn't strange, but the two conducting it were odd pair. Two young birds somewhere in their teenage years were perched opposite one another. One was a barn owl, the other a crow. Around the pair of them, three other young owls watched them squabble.

"He did!" one of the other owls butt in. "He really did."

"No, he didn't," the crow's voice had a cynical edge to it. She fixed her opponent in her vision. "Albert, you have never left the forest. No one here has. I doubt you've even flown furthur from your nest than this tree we're standing on."

The barn owl, Albert, ruffled his feathers with exasperation. "I really have left the forest! It was big and open, and not a single tree in sight! The sky was... was... yellow! Bright yellow! And there were all these big creatures with four wings and eight eyes!" he exclaimed. All the young owls watched him in awe, but the crow's face remained expressionless. "And there were... mountains. Big mountains. Mountains which had lightning bolts coming out of!" Albert continued. "And... and..."

"And the pigs there had wings and horses ate their own young," the crow added sarcastically.

Albert glared at the crow. "You're calling me a liar, Captain?"

"Was my lack of belief that obvious?" the crow, Captain, answered dryly.

One of the other owls, a female, stepped in. "Stop this at once!" she demanded. "We are respectable birds. We do not argue in such a manor."

Albert paid her no attention. "I have an idea that will solve all of this," he said, a smirk formed on his beak.

Captain raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Albert pointed a wing at the crow. "Captain, I dare you to outside the forest."

The three other owls gasped.

Captain didn't even flinch. "Okay," she said. "But one one condition."

"And what's that?" asked Albert.

"You have to come with me," Captain said with a smile.

Albert's confidence suddenly vanished. "Erm, well..."

Captain's smile widened. "What's the matter? I thought you had already been there."

"I have!" Albert exclaimed. "It's just..."

"You have to go," the female owl from before interjected. "It's the rule."

"What rule?" Albert demanded.

"THE rule!" all the other owls said at once.

Albert looked dismayed. He then straightened up. "Fine! I'll come!"

"Great," Captain said. She then opened her wings. "Last one to the edge of the forest is rotten meat!" she then shot off threw the trees.

"Hey!" Albert yelled. "Come back!" He leapt of the branch and flew after her, leaving the other owls behind.

As the two younger owls watched Albert leave, the eldest shook her head. "This is not going to end well."

**Author's Note: Yeah... sorry this is so short. I wanted to get the third chapter up and I'm not sure how much time I'm gonna have over the next few days due to my exams. Anyhow, I hope you like this.**

**As for Captain, who she is, why she's hanging around with a group of owls and why she's called Captain will be revealed later.  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Ugly as a P I G

**Author's Note: So it's been a bit since the last chapter. Kind of lost a bit of enthusiasm for this story but after recieving a review from Reubenizadorables625, I decided to continue. This chapter is a little short, I'll admit, but is kind of an important chapter (read the chapter title below and you'll probably guess why) I also realised just how important reviews are to me and realised that a certain story of mine which has 21 reviews has been collecting a lot of dust so I've decided that as soon as my exams are over I will write Chapter 6 of Shrek Two and a Half.  
So I hope you enjoy this, guys. Chapter 5 will be up sometime.  
**

**Chapter 4: Ugly as a PIG  
**

There was no doubt about it. Mrs Duck couldn't remember feeling happier than she did today as she lead her sons back from the pond.

"And then it was like WHAM! Right in front of me!" Bertie cried.

"A huge chunk of food about the size if an acorn!" Bill added with the same excitement.

"Me and Bill had to tear it apart just so it could fit in our beaks!" Bertie continued.

"And those giants!" Bill exclaimed.

"They were big and ugly!" Bertie laughed.

"I know, dears, I saw them," Mrs Duck said with a smile. Seeing her chicks so excited made her feel so full of joy. It almost made her forget about the pain she had felt the day her husband had left.

"They were really scary too," Bertie said.

"I wasn't scared," Bill rose his head proudly into the air.

"You were too, Bill!" Bertie scoffed at his younger brother.

"I'm not scared of anything," Bill retorted.

"Oh really?" Bertie laughed. He then made his face into a mask of mock fear. "_Oh no, it's an attack! Run!" _he mimicked his brother's earlier fear.

"Hey, you were just as frightened!" Bill cried out.

Bertie scoffed again. "Was not!"

"Okay, dears, settle down," Mrs Duck said gently.

Both Bertie and Bill was silent for a bit. Bill was the first to speak.

"At least neither of us were freaking out as soon as we set foot in the water," Bill said to Bertie.

Bertie smirked. "Yeah," he then looked behind them where his other three brothers were.

"_Mom, Mom, I can't remember how to swim!_" Bill made his voice high-pitched like Colin's and waved his wings about frantically. Bertie burst out laughing at his brother's antics.

Colin blushed, putting his head down. "It's harder than it looks," he muttered.

While both Bertie and Bill were being vindictive to their younger brother, Hamish waddled in the back, deep in thought. The image of being on the open water was still in his mind. It had felt so wonderful, just swimming about without a care in the world. For some reason, it sent little shuddery feelings through his feathers. This confused him. Was this another instinct thing, this feelings to spread his wings? Without realising what he was doing, his wings began to spread out and he began to flap them.

"What are you doing, weirdo?" Bertie's voice brought Hamish back to the real world.

"Erm..." Hamish looked up, self-consciously folding his wings against himself.

"Aww, isn't that cute, Bertie? Little Hammy is trying to fly!" Bill sneered. Both brothers started laughing.

"Like he could!" Bertie snorted. "He's so fat he could barely get off the ground!"

"Poor, poor delusional Hammy," Bill said with mock sadness, shaking his head before laughing again.

"Hey!" Hamish yelped. "I'm not fat! And don't call me Hammy! I don't like it."

"Aww, Hammy's senstive," Bertie mocked. "I think he's going cry, Bill."

"Stop it!" Hamish yelled again. "Why are you calling me 'Hammy' anyway?"

"Because you like a pig," Bill said bluntly. "You get it. Ham. Pig. You get it?"

Hamish's feathers ruffled up with offense. "I do not look like a pig!"

"Yeah, you do!" Bertie laugh.

"You're UG-LEE, Hammy!" Bill joined his brother in laughter. "Ugly as a P-I-G! PIG!"

"I'm not ugly!" Hamish shouted at his brothers. He looked ahead but his mother was too far away to hear, and neither Henry not Colin wa backing him up.

"Oh yeah?" Bill snorted.

Bertie gestured towards a puddle a few feet away which had been left from the rain last night. "Take a look for yourself, Pig. But don't blame us when you don't like what you see." The two older ducklings then shuffled after their mother, laughings as they went.

"Hmph!" Hamish said, trying to force his brother's insults out of his mind. But he couldn't help but shuffle towards the puddle, his curiousity now peaked. He had never looked it reflection before, and now that he did, his eyes widened. His big head, his long neck, his unusual colouring. He didn't look like a duckling at all. "Bill and Bertie are right... I AM ugly as a pig."

Just then, a huge tear drop rolled down the ugly duckling's cheek.


	5. Chapter 5: Beyond the Forest

**Author's Note: I'd like to start by apologizing for how long this took. I'd then like to thank any readers who are reading this message, as you have been nice enough to stick with this story. I'm even surprised how much _I_ actually like this story and the fact I have stuck with it for five chapters now. Believe me, that's an achievement for me.  
**

**Anyway, this chapter is Captain-centered. Well, Captain AND Albert centered. Surprisingly, while writing this chapter, I have grown to like Albert, which is funny since he was only meant to be a minor character, but now his role is slightly extended from him simply being Captain's acquaintance to him now being Captain's best friend (though neither Captain or Albert will admit to this).  
**

**Also, you'll learn some stuff about Captain.  
**

**Oh and the crow gang is going to be introduced next chapter. Which if good because we're five chapters in and we haven't seen a single Dumbo character. Hell, if I removed the Dumbo characters, I could just make this an original story and it would just be a more fleshed out version of the Ugly Duckling fairy tale. Of course, I like the direction I'm planning for it and the Dumbo characters do serve a driving purpose is the story, even though they have yet to appear. Besides, Dumbo needs more fanfiction.  
**

**Speaking of, though, why is it that, of all the fairy tale adaptions out there, there aren't many adaptations of the Ugly Duckling? Loads of people have written stories based on Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, but no one tries to make a story based on the Ugly Duckling, and when it is adapted, it's usually a straight up movie adaption or a diluted version of the fairy tale.  
**

**But I've rambled on long enough. Enjoy the chapter and please review it to tell me what you think.  
**

**Chapter 5: Beyond the Forest**

A long silence had passed as Captain and Albert flew further through the forest, but every time Albert turned his head to look at the crow, he saw no fear in her eyes, just pure determination.

Captain had always been headstrong.

_I wonder if all crows are like that, _Albert thought. He wouldn't know as, other than Captain, there wasn't a single crow in the woods. Captain herself hadn't even seen a single crow since her parents had passed away, and Albert doubted she even remembered them, considering how young she had been when they had died. It was around that time that one of the female barn owls, Greta, had lost her own chick. The old owl had been so distraught.

Maybe that's why she had decided to take in Captain as her own.

Of course, that hadn't gone down to well with the other owls, particularly Greta's sister, General Minerva, the leader of the owls and one of the most high-ranking animals in the forest.

"We are owls, Greta. The most noble birds in the entire animal kingdom. We can't take in a crow and raise it as one of our own," General Minerva had said sternly.

But Greta had insisted, and Minerva, like any loving sister, hated to see one of her own kin cry.

And so that was that. The young crow was adopted into the owl family and raised by Greta. At first, the chick had not been given a proper name, but Greta always called her 'my little soldier' because of how, even though she was small and weak, she struggled on bravely. So, in the end, it stuck and she became known as 'Captain' among the owls. General Minerva didn't like it, of course. Captain was a name given to a high-ranking owl soldier, not to a scrawny little crow chick.

Albert himself had been only a chick himself at the time but had heard all of this from the other owls. His parents had shown obvious discomfort at having their son spend time with a mangy crow, but they couldn't exactly object to it, especially since slightly over a year ago, Greta had passed away, leaving Captain in General Minerva's charge. In fact, Albert's mother had even suggested that Albert use his friendship with Captain to get into Minerva's good books.

Albert hadn't listened to her though. Because even though he and Captain fought quite a bit, he considered Captain his closest friend and thought it would be dishonorable of him to use their friendship just so the General would see him in a good light.

Of course, he would never tell Captain herself that he cared about her so much. It would just give Captain more reason to tease him.

"Albert?"

The young owl snapped away from his thoughts as he heard Captain calling his name.

"What is it, Captain?" he asked.

The crow glanced at him before suddenly looking away. "It's nothing," she muttered.

Albert frowned but didn't press. "Okay, then," he said. He was used to this by now. Captain had never been one to share her thoughts with him. However, recently, there would be times where it would be just them together and it would appear like Captain was going to say something, something which seemed important. But she never told him. Either something would interrupt her or she would stop herself because she could tell him. These little moments seemed to have started soon after Greta had died.

As Albert looked ahead of them, he noticed that the trees had started to lessen in numbers and, as he looked up, he could see stretches of dark blue sky, signalling that night was close.

They were coming to the edge of the woods.

Captain also looked up at the sky. "It seems, Albert, that even though we are closer to the edge of the forest, the sky still appears blue, and not yellow like you previously described."

Albert couldn't stand the smugness in her voice. "W-w-well," Albert stuttered, "I came out during the day so the sky was pale yellow with sun." That wouldn't have been so hard to believe. While owls are mostly nocturnal animals, the younger owls were naturally restless and would sometimes wake up between noon and early evening to mess around while the adult owls were still sleeping. Captain herself, being a crow, disliked sleeping during the day and would usually sleep during the night while the owls were awake, so when Albert woke up in the afternoon, he would find her boredly swooping around the forest, awaiting for the other owls to awake.

"Of course it was," Captain said, but the sarcasm in her voice was unmistakeble.

Albert would have snapped at her right then until he noticed that the trees had practically all gone and that now, infront of him, was large stretches of open space.

They were now beyond the forest.

"Wow," Captain breathed, forgetting her taunts for the moment and suddenly giving out the typical harsh sounds a crow made when they were laughing. She then soared ahead to the open. "I mean, wow!"

"Captain, wait!" Albert said, flying after her, but Captain wasn't listening.

"Look at this place," Captain said, a large smile on her beak. Albert was taken aback. It was rare to see Captain so happy. "All this space, not too many trees, grass, you can see the sky... it's wonderful." She then grinned at Albert. "And not a single four-winged, eight-eyed giant in sight."

Albert frowned, ignoring that last bit. He couldn't see what was so wonderful about this bare land. As a owl, he was used to the wood. Maybe this was a crow thing, maybe crows preferred open space to forests.

"We should go back," Albert said nervously. "The others will be waking up soon and if we're not there..."

"Oh cool your wings," Captain retorted. "Just a little longer, alright?" She then suddenly dived downwards.

"Captain!" Albert yelped in shock. He breathed a sigh of relief as Captain soared back up.

The crow then shot him another grin. "Catch me if you can!" she taunted before shooting off.

"Come back!" Albert shouted at her, giving chase. He flew as fast as her could after her, trying his best to follow her as she zoomed left and right, making very sudden turns in attempts to evade him. As Albert followed her, he started to forget his fear and suddenly rather giddy with the chase. However, as Captain started to go close to the ground, his nervousness returned somewhat, but he continued to chase her, not wanting to seem like a coward.

That was until Captain suddenly stopped. "Look, at that," Captain said, making a motion with her head towards the ground.

Albert halted beside her and followed her gaze.

There was a figure on the ground, a giant mammal that stood on its hind legs and had no fur nor feathers. And it was holding something, though Albert couldn't make it out.

Albert backed away a little. He had heard of these creatures. The forest dwellers call them 'man' and they were not to be trusted. "We should go," he said.

"Don't be a coward now, Albert!" Captain snapped. She looked back at the creature. "Let's fly over it."

"WHAT!" Albert said.

"We don't have to go too close to it, we just need to pass above it," Captain said. "Then we can go home."

Albert stammered. "I-I-I don't like this idea."

"Pfft, suit yourself," Captain said before shooting across the sky in front of him.

"Wait!" Albert yelled. "Captain, I'm serious!" When Captain didn't turn around, Albert went after her.

It was difficult for him to keep up with her but he tried his best. He watched as the crow shot ahead of him before turning round. He breathed a sigh of relief. She coming back. They could go home now. He then looked down at the man before noticing that the man was looking at them. Could it see them even though the sky was getting darker? Albert then noticed that the object the man was holding was now pointed at them. No, not at him... at Captain.

Albert's eyes widened. He now realised what the object was.

"Captain!" he shouted at the crow. "Turn back!"

The crow looked at him. "What is it this time, Al?" she said, not realising the danger. She was ready to throw another taunt at him when Albert suddenly shot forwards and, with his talons, pushed her back.

Before Captain could react, there was a loud noise, a loud crack that could have rivaled thunder.

Then Albert, with one last look of pain and terror in his eyes, started to fall.


	6. Chapter 6: Outrageous Fortune

**Author's Note: ... Wow.  
**

**Okay, so, to recap, I kind of left this story alone for a bit as I've just recently started a new year at school and I have A LOT of work. Plus I've been trying to write my own original story, so my fanfiction has been kind of neglected.  
**

**Then, one day, I recieved a message on my dA saying from someone saying that they actually liked this story and they wanted to know if I was going to continue it. Curious, I checked on this story to see who else was reading it...  
**

**8 reviews.  
**

**... whut!?  
**

**So, basically, THANK YOU!  
**

**You have no idea how happy this makes me. I have recently been feeling kind of down due to a lot of stuff happening in my life and this cheers me up quite a bit. So decided to write this chapter.  
**

**This chapter isn't as long as I had planned it to be (in fact, it's a bit short), but it does have the long-awaited appearance of the crows.  
**

**Finally...  
**

**Plus, I kind of wanted to put this out as quickly as possible so everyone knows this story hasn't been forgotten. And next chapter, I will try to make it longer.  
**

**Also, I just want to say that the Crow Gang isn't going to meet up with Captain just yet like I had originally planned... but it will be soon.  
**

**Very soon.  
**

**Anyway, enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 6: Outrageous Fortune**

As morning came, the sun rising high in the sky, the world began to awake. The birds began their morning song, and welcome breeze shook the trees from their rest.

Of course, not all animals welcome morning, in the same way not all humans welcome morning. And while most birds early risers, there was a particular group of birds which remained perched asleep on their tree. They were five crows, all dressed in ragged and unkempt clothing. While they were standing, their heads were tucked under one wing. One of them, a quite rounded crow, was snoring loudly, which didn't seem to disturb his comrades at all. What did disturb the crows was when a loud shout, or rather, a screech, was sounded.

"Murder! Murder!"

All crows lifted their heads in alarm as a bird-shaped shadow crashed landed on the branch, pushing the smallest of the crows of the branch. Luckily, the little crow managed to react just in time to flutter his wings and land on a branch slightly lower than the rest of his friends. This little crow wore a pair of oversized glasses. Because of this, his friends called Glasses Crow. When he finally calmed from the shock of being smashed into, he fluttered back to the branch, where found his friends, tired but awake, gathering round their surprise visitor: a pheasant who wore a blue scarf around his neck. This pheasant was known to the crows, and was known by the name Misery.

You see, pheasants were not known for giving their children cheerful names, as pheasants aren't actually very cheerful birds. Pheasants were known for being quite bitter but also somewhat paranoid birds. They didn't really trust anyone, except for other pheasants. This probably is due to a life-time of being shot at.

Misery himself, the crows knew to be especially bad. He was prone to bursts of emotion and had a tendency to complain and cry... a lot. He also had a tendency to panic for no reason. In fact, as he got over the shock of his crash landing, he immediately started screeching again, much to the crows' annoyance.

One of the crows approached the alarmed pheasant. This crow was quite tall and wore a blue jacket and a hat. In one wing, he held a large cigar. Many birds referred to him as 'Dandy Crow', but his real name was Jim, and he was, in a way, the self-proclaimed leader of his gang. "Calm yourself, brother. Calm," he said in a laid back manner, placing one wing on the pheasant's shoulder.

This was the wrong thing to say.

"Calm!" Misery screeched in a high-pitched voice. "I will not calm! I know not what calm IS!" He fluttered his wings, almost aggressively. "It's murder! Murder, I tell you!"

"Now, now," Jim said, not at all phased by Misery's fearful expression. "What's the rush, boy?"

"The rush!?" Misery reapeated. "My dear fellow, did you not hear the gunshots last night?"

"Gunshots?!" Glasses exclaimed.

One of the other crows, who was thin, and taller than Jim, shook his head. "No need to worry, brother. It's probably Misery's imagination," the crow said.

Misery turned on this crow. "I'll have you know, Preacher, that it was not my imagination!" The pheasant's eyes then turned watery. He started sobbing into his wing. "There was shooting last night... the Man came with his firestick, his Gun... and my own brother, Sorrow... they killed him!" He gave a loud sob.

There was pause before the crow who had spoken before, Preacher, said, somewhat dumbfoundedly, "Oh."

"Oh!?" Misery screeched between his tears. "If that all you can say!?"

"Pardon me, Misery," the rounded crow, known as Fat, interrupted. "But I thought you hated your brother."

"I DID!" Misery sobbed loudly. "But he was MY brother. If anyone should have killed him it should have been ME!" Misery then proceeded to start banging his head against the tree trunk.

The crows then stared awkwardly at their distressed visitor.

It the fifth and final crow who then spoke. He the same height as Jim but wore a strange straw hat, hence why his friends called him Straw Hat. "Come on, brother, its not that bad," he said, walking up the pheasant. "I mean, wasn't the reason you hated your brother because he stole your mate Heartache from you?"

Misery looked up at Straw Hat. "Yes?" he gave sniff.

"Well, now he's dead, you and Heartache can be together again," Straw Hat said, trying to be cheerful as possible.

However, Misery's eyes became more tearful. "No... me and Heartache... we can't be together... we can never be together again because... because..." he then gave a howl. "They shot her TOO!"

Straw Hat's face fell. "Oh..." he said.

Misery turned his back on the crows. "I never asked to be born a pheasant... I never asked for this..." He put his wing to his forehead and looked up at the sky in a dramatic pose. "What is it to live, if only to die? To be, or not to be: that is the question!"

"Oh no," the crows groaned in unison. They knew what was coming.

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," Misery continued. "Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die: to sleep..."

"Look, brother," Jim interrupted. "Before you continue with your whole poetry thing, could you please tell us where the shooting was?"

"Hmm?" the pheasant paused, looked at the crows for a second. "Oh it was to the west, nearby that old farmer's field."

"Good," Jim said before turning to his gang. "Let's go, boys. We'll check it out."

"Wait!" Misery said. However, the crows didn't listen and shot off, flying westward. Misery's face became sad. "But I still have several lines of Shakespeare left..." He then frowned before sighed. "Oh well, who needs them..."

He then cleared his throat to continue.

"No more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep..."

"Erm, excuse me?"

Misery turned, annoyed to be interrupted. He turned to face a young female crow. "What do you-" he began to asked rudely... when he noticed she was covered in blood. "Oh my..."

"I need help..." Captain said, shuddering a little. "My friend is injured. You wouldn't happen to know... how to heal an injured wing."

**Author's Note: ****Look out, everyone, it is the RETURN OF THE CLIFFHANGER! **

**Just to explain the ending of this chapter, for all the people who were worried about Albert, don't worry, he's still alive, he just got shot in the wing (meaning his injury isn't fatal)... Don't worry, the whole ting will be explain later.  
**

******Also, a big thanks to one of my family members, my grandmother, who sent me this very funny book called Bird Brain, about man who is reincarnated as a pheasant. It is a very funny book, and gave me some inspiration for the rest of this story, and was the reason I decided to put a pheasant in this chapter.  
**

******I hope you guys like our new character Misery... because this isn't going to be the last we see of him.  
**

******Next chapter, we're going back to Hamish for a couple chapters as we've kind of been neglecting him. But do not worry, the crows shall return.  
**

******(I'm just going to put a disclaimer here: Dumbo doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Disney. I only own my characters. Hamlet doesn't belong to me either. It belongs to Shakespeare.)  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Different

**Author's Note: Happy New Year, everyone! And to start off 2013, I give you the next chapter of An Ugly Duckling Story. **

**Please enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 7: Different**

Hamish was the first to wake up in the morning.

It was the morning light, pale and golden, which roused him from his dreamless sleep, peeking through the twisted branches of the forest trees.

Hamish opened his eyes, and was shocked when he saw his brother Colin lying next to him.

Hamish never slept near his brothers, but instead on the edge of the nest, as far away from Bertie and Bill as he could get without losing sight of his family. Colin usually slept next to their mother, so Hamish was surprised to the see the small duckling next to him. He looked over his shoulder and noted that his mother and other brothers were still sleeping.

He stood up, carefully so not to wake up Colin. He then made his way out of the nest and slowly began to walk. He made his way into a trail of long grass. He had no idea where he was going, but he wanted to be alone. He always liked being alone, and now seemed like the best chance.

Hamish walked and walked through the long grass as it rustled and shook around him. Mother had always told him never to go into long grass.

"Scary things live in long grass," she had said, but when Hamish had asked what kind of scary things, she would never answer.

After a while of walking, the trail of long grass seemed to end, and Hamish made his way out onto bare earth. The trees stood silently over him, almost as if watching him. It was kind of eerie, but the silence also gave him some sense of peace. He countinued to walk, weaving in and out of the trees, looking up at the pieces of sky he could see through the branches of the trees.

This felt good, to walk and be free. To not have his brothers laughing at him, making fun of him. To not see the sadness in his mother's eyes whenever she looked at him.

Suddenly, Hamish heard something. Footsteps. Footsteps racing towards him. He swung round to defend himself...

... until he saw that it was only Colin.

Hamish gave a sigh of relief as Colin stopped in front of him, breathing heavily.

"H-h-hamish... I..." Colin gasped for breathed. He had been running for the last few minutes and now was very tired. "Found you... ouldn't f-f-find you..."

Hamish blinked. "Hello Colin," he said.

There was an awkward silence between the two brothers. They never spoke with one another, never had since they had first been brought by the stork. Hamish tried to think of something to say, anything.

In the end, it was Colin who first spoke. "Sorry," he said.

Hamish blinked again, confused. "For what?"

Without warning, Colin started crying. "You were so nice to me yesterday, giving me that food... and when Bertie and Bill started picking on you, I wanted to help but they always tease me and I was scared and..." His words became muffled sobs.

Hamish stared, speechless at the crying duckling. Then, without saying anything, he put a comforting wing on his brother's shoulder. Colin looked up, sniffing. "It's okay," Hamish said.

Colin shook his head, pushing his brother's wing away. "No. No, it's not." He looked down at his feet. "I was wish I was braver. And stronger. Then Bertie and Bill wouldn't tease me all the time."

Hamish shrugged. "They'd probably find something else to tease you about. They're like that." There two stood in silence for a while, not looking at eachother.

"You were the only one who has ever been nice to me," Colin said after a moment. Hamish looked at him.

"Henry was nice to you yesterday," Hamish corrected him. "He helped you when you were swimming."

Colin shook his head. "It's not the same."

"Why not?"

Colin sighed and looked up at the sky. "I think it's because Henry feels he _has _to be nice to me. He feels he has to be the responsible one because Ma is unhappy and Dad isn't around."

"And our two oldest brothers don't know the meaning of the word 'responsible'," Hamish added. Both he and Colin gave a little laugh at this.

"The point is," Colin continued. "I'm older than you. I should be the one looking after you, not the other way around."

Hamish frowned at this but didn't interrupt.

"I should be strong, and stand up to Bertie and Bill, and shouldn't let them make fun of you," Colin explained. "Because it's unfair that you are made of fun of just because you're..." There was a pause.

"... because I'm ugly?" Hamish finished. There was slightest hint of bitterness in his voice, though he tried to conceal it.

"Different, I was going to say," Colin said carefully.

"Hm," was Hamish's reply.

They were silent again. This time it was Hamish who broke the silence.

"Colin?"

Colin looked at him. "Yes?"

"You don't have to look after me," Hamish said. "I know you care. Not just about me, but about all of us." He took a moment as he tried to think about what to say next. "And... it's okay if you're not stronger than everyone else. If you were all strong, like Bertie and Bill, you might not care about others as much as you do." He paused again. "Besides, you're stronger than you think you are."

Colin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Not strong like Bertie and Bill are strong," Hamish said. "You have a strong heart. You care about people."

Colin nodded for a second. He then put his wing around Hamish. "Thanks."

Hamish smiled. "You're welcome." He then looked up at the sky. "The others will be waking up. Maybe we should get back."

"Okay," Colin said. As they started to walk back, Colin looked at Hamish. "Hamish?"

"Yes, Colin?"

"I know we're brothers, but..."

"But what?" Hamish said, without looking at him.

"Can we also be friends?"

Hamish looked at him, somewhat astonished. But then he smiled. "Silly, we _are_ friends."

Colin gave a sigh of relief. "Good." And the two made their way back to the nest together.

* * *

The rest of the day followed as normal for the ducklings. Mrs Duck once again took them out to the pond. There were less giants this time, but they still managed to get food, and Mrs Duck later told them she would one day teach them how to fish. That made Hamish really excited. Colin less so, as he doubted his own ability. However, Hamish made sure to reassure him. The two brothers spent the whole day side-by-side, unlike the previous day. Hamish was happy that now at least one of his own family cared about him.

On their way back from the pond, however, they had an unexpected encounter.

"Well, it's been a while, Matilda darling."

Mrs Duck turned as another female duck made her way over, followed by three ducklings. These ducklings were older than Hamish and his brothers, as well as much more well-kempt, none of them having a feather out of place.

Mrs Duck forced a smile at the newcomer. "Good afternoon, Beatrice."

The other duck just put her head up at this. "It would be a good afternoon, yes, if it were not for the stench of lower-class filth."

Mrs Duck tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Beatrice sniffed loudly. "I, of course, mean that... new settling family by the edge of the forest."

Mrs Duck was curious. "A new family of ducks? What are they like?"

Beatrice leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "To put it simply, darling, they are... not like us."

Mrs Duck frowned. "I do not follow."

Beatrice gave a snort. "Harlequins, darling! They are harlequin ducks!"

"Oh," Mrs Duck said, suppressing the need to roll her eyes.

Beatrice Mallard-Duck was renowned throughout the forest as a very... snooty lady. She believed that she was on the upper-class of the forest, above most others. This was due to her heritage as a 'pure duck'. She believed that the Mallard, or 'Wild Duck' as it was sometimes called, was superior to all other species of duck. The forest in which they lived was home to a large population of mallard, but there were a few families who were not. For example, there were a family of muscovy ducks living close to Mrs Duck's own nest, and Mrs Duck often found their family to very good company. As a duckling, Mrs Duck had found the 'holier-than-thou' attitude of most mallard tiring, even though she was a mallard herself. In the end, Mrs Duck had dropped the 'mallard' from her last name and simply was called 'Mrs Duck', as she felt it was easier that way.

"Mother?" Henry asked, snapping Mrs Duck out of her thoughts. "What is a harlequin duck?"

Beatrice looked round and her face lit up. "Who is this handsome little fellow?"

Mrs Duck puffed up her chest in pride. "This is my son, Henry Jr. Duck."

Beatrice nodded. "Yes, I have not seen your ducklings yet. May you introduce them to me?"

Mrs Duck nodded, though had slight reluctance. She motioned to Bertie and Bill, who were currently arguing about which of them could quack louder. "This is my oldest son, Bertie, and my second oldest, Bill."

Bertie smiled at Beatrice, but Bill folded his wings over his chest crossly. "Way to rub in, Ma," Bill grumbled.

Mrs Duck ignored this sulky comment and motioned to Colin and Hamish behind them. "And those are my two youngest, Colin and Hamish."

Beatrice glanced at the two, before her beak dropped. "My word, Matilda, what is wrong with that boy?"

Colin immediately was self conscious, looking down ashamedly. However, Hamish knew it wasn't Colin Beatrice had been referring to. She had been referring to Hamish.

Mrs Duck gave Beatrice a look, immediately becoming defensive. "There is nothing wrong with Hamish. He's just different," she said, her voice slightly hostile.

Beatrice recovered, holding her beak up in the air. "If you say so, darling. I, for one, am not a fan of... different."

Without another word, Beatrice and her three ducklings walked past Mrs Duck and her sons. Beatrice glanced back as Mrs Duck and gave a strange smile. "Well, good bye Matilda," she said, her tone sounding somewhat unpleasant. She and children then left.

Mrs Duck glared as she departed, before making her way back to the nest with her ducklings. All the way back, Hamish suddenly felt upset. Was he always to be judged just on how he looked?

**Author's Note: Aww, poor Hamish. Still, at least now he and Colin are friends. **

**Originally, the part with Hamish and Colin and the part with Beatrice were going to be separate chapters. However, I felt the Hamish and Colin part was too short so I added the bit with Beatrice.  
**

**Next chapter we're hopefully going to get Hamish's story moving along, and get one step closer to him beginning his journey.  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Elijah

**Author's Note: At least, chapter 8 is here. I'm sorry this took a while. Chapter 9 will hopefully be quicker, but I can't promise anything as I have exams coming up and I'm totally unprepared. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 8: Elijah**

After Mrs Duck and her sons had returned to her nest, Mrs Duck had settled down to rest, Henry by her side. Bertie and Bill had started arguing over something, naturally. Hamish guessed it must be in their nature to argue as they did little else.

As for himself, however, he was sitting on the edge of the nest. Colin, exhausted from their walk, had fallen asleep beside him. Hamish himself didn't feel like sleeping, however. He glanced over at his family. They wouldn't notice he took a short walk. He needed to be alone for a bit.

He stood up slowly before creeping away into the long grass.

A small breeze rattled the trees above him, grass chattering around him. He walked for a while, though the sky was slowly darkening. He knew he should get back before night. Scary creatures came out at night. Ma had told him so. She had told his stories of huge grey monsters, bushy-tailed demons, titan birds, all who would try to eat him. Worst of all was the story had told them when they were going to the pond this morning: the story of the giants.

"Not all giants are kind, my sons. There are ones, like the young ones who feed us at the pond, but there are also bigger giants who carry sticks," she had said.

"Giant sticks?" Hamish had said.

"What's so scary about sticks?" Bill had challenged.

"They aren't normal sticks. They are thunder sticks," their mother had continued. "They shine like silver, they're hard like stone. When we fly, men will point the sticks at us. Then, there is a loud noise, like thunder shattering the sky."

"What happens then?" Bertie had asked.

"Someone dies."

Those words had haunted Hamish. When they had been in the pond, he watched all the giants suspiciously, looking for these thunder sticks. He couldn't see any, but he had made a vow to himself to never trust the giants again. Any creature that killed a duck was evil, was his enemy. He had told this to his brothers himself. Bertie and Bill had only laughed.

"More food for us then!" Bill had said, stealing a lump of bread which had been floating next to Hamish.

Now, Hamish could only sigh. His two eldest brothers could never say anything nice about him or anyone. Still, at least he and Colin were friends now.

It was then became aware of a noise, a strange… _buzzing_ noise. And a voice.

"We cannot _bzzlieve_ it… It doesn't make any sense. How could this happen? How could this happen? Why? Why? Why?"

Hamish looked up as a small yellow and black dot whizzed over his head. "Erm, hello?" he said, curiously.

The voice came again. "What? What? Who said that? Show yourself!"

Hamish frowned. "Er, it was me."

"Who? Who is me? Who? Who? Show yourself!" The small dot began buzzing in front his face.

"Erm, me," Hamish said again. "Erm, Hamish."

"Hamish? Hamish? What's a Hay-mish?"

"I'm Hamish," Hamish said, starting to a little bit irritated. "That's my name."

"What's in a name?" the dot said. "That which we call a rose by any other name would be just as sour." There was a pause. "Wait, that's not right." Another pause. "How does that saying going again? We cannot remember." The dot then landed on the end of Hamish's beak. He realised the dot was in fact an insect of some sort, and quite a big insect. It was yellow and black in colour, small rounded wings, six legs and many little eyes.

"Erm, excuse me?" Hamish said. "But, erm, what are you?"

The insect gave a gasp. "How rude! Doth thou not recognise us? We are Elijah the 26th, son of Elijah the 25th, grandson of Elijah the 24th, great-grandson of-"

"Elijah the 23rd?" Hamish guessed.

The insect gave an irritated buzz. "No, Harold. Our great-grandfather was called Harold."

Hamish raised an eyebrow. "Harold?"

The insect sighed. "Yes. It's a bit of sore spot among our family. We don't like to talk about it."

"Ah, I see," Hamish said. "So… are you bee, by any chance? Or wasp?" He remembered his mother telling him about bees, who were noted by their yellow and black stripes, but also that wasps had similar colouring.

Elijah gave another gasp. "How insulting! We are not a wasp!"

"So you're a bee?"

"We are not just _any _bee! We are a bumblebee." Elijah sniffed. "We are far superior."

"What's the difference?" Hamish asked.

"For one, we do not live in colonies. Bumblebees are solitary creatures."

"I thought bees had queens," Hamish said.

"Not us. Bumblebees have no queen. And even if we did, we would not be ruled, not be tamed. We are a free bee." Elijah proudly put his head up.

Hamish tilted his head to one side. "Why do you refer to yourself as 'we' all the time?"

"It is customary for royalty refer to themselves as such," Elijah said with a nod.

Hamish frowned. "But you just said that bumblebees don't have a queen," he said.

"We are our own king," Elijah announced. "We alone are the rulers of our self." He then looked at Hamish. "But enough about us. What are you?"

"I'm a duck," Hamish said.

"We have never seen a duck like you before," Elijah commented.

Hamish sighed. "Yes, I know. I'm ugly, aren't I?"  
Elijah looked at him for a second, and then nodded. "Yes, you are ugly. But you're nothing special. All ducks are ugly to us. In fact, all non-bumblebees are ugly. Bumblebees are the only beautiful species on this planet." Elijah nodded again. "That is a fact. The sooner you accept it, the happier you shall be."

Hamish sighed. "I hope it does. I'm not very happy at the moment," he said.

Elijah blinked his many eyes. "Why not?" Elijah said.

"No one likes me," Hamish said sadly.

"Nobody? Really?" Elijah tilted his head.

"Well, my brother does, I guess."

"Do you like yourself?"

"I… don't know," Hamish admitted.

"Well, you should," Elijah said. "If everyone doesn't like themself, how can they expect anyone else to like them? We love our self! Our self is the most important person to us! And because of that, we are always happy and confident in everything we do!"

Hamish sighed. "Must be nice," he said.

It was then he heard a rustling behind him. Hearing the rustling, Elijah quickly flew off, leaving Hamish behind.

"Wait!" Hamish called, but Elijah didn't look back. Hamish then glanced back to the source of the noise. "Colin?" he called.

But it wasn't Colin out of the grass came… Henry, looking a little bit untidy.

Hamish blinked. "Henry?"

His brother looked at him. "Mother was worried about you," he said, without emotion.

"Oh," Hamish said.

"We should head back," Henry said, turning back the way he came.

"Oh okay," Hamish nodded, and followed him.

As they made their way back, Henry glanced at Hamish. "By the way, who were you talking to?"

Hamish looked at him. "A bumblebee," he said.

"A _what_?"

"I'll explain later," said Hamish, and the two continued the way back to the nest.

**Author's Note:**** I don't really like this chapter, it's not one of my favorites. However, I did enjoy writing some of Elijah's lines. **

**Anyway, about Elijah: this guy came out of nowhere. He was a character I just one day came up with. One person in the reviews said "Where is Timothy Mouse when you need him?" and I realised that maybe Hamish should have his own version of Timothy. Then this guy came into mind. Of course, Elijah isn't exactly like Timothy. Elijah is more self-centered, very arrogant, extremely proud, bluntly honest and doesn't always think before he speaks, but he is a nice guy at heart. Also, like Misery, he occasionally quotes Shakespeare. However, as seen here, he doesn't always get the quotes correct.**

**Anyway, we are now going to leave Hamish and his brothers for a bit, as the next chapter is going to be a chapter with the Crows, and the chapter after that is going to be a Captain and Misery chapter, and after that it'll probably be another Crows chapter, because we need to get Captain meeting Jim and his gang over with.**

**Also, I'm curious to see if anyone has noticed this, but there are actually three main characters in this story. Hamish is the first and Captain is the second, but has anyone guessed who the third is? I'm only asking this because no one has mentioned this character in the reviews yet, and I'm quite surprised as he is actually my favorite of the three mains, and we're going to be exploring his story a little more later after Hamish goes on his journey. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and see you guys next time!**


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